Graham Potter makes surprise Amex Stadium admission ahead of battle for Premier League survival

With just four victories coming from the Amex this season, home hasn't always felt so comfortable for Graham Potter's Brighton and Hove Albion.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Premier League resumes next week and Brighton begin their run-in with a home match against Arsenal.

Albion have four more games on their own patch - against Man United, Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle - as they look to guarantee their survival.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Potter's side were on a 10-game winless run when the coronavirus crisis halted proceedings, leaving them just two points above the relegation zone with nine games to play.

Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Graham PotterBrighton and Hove Albion head coach Graham Potter
Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Graham Potter

The top flight has been suspended since March 9, casting big question marks over how players will cope with an unexpected mid-season break when fixtures resume later this month.

The available evidence from Germany, where Bundesliga matches have been back since mid-May, suggests that the absence of fans has all-but removed home advantage, though a record of four wins from 14 outings at their own stadium suggests Brighton do not have as much to lose as others.

"It's not like the AMEX was a massive fortress for us before and now we haven't got that anymore. So we have to play football and we get on with it," said Potter

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I think the hostility of the home crowd in the Premier League is where the advantage is. Certainly, the crowd in the British game get so involved in the game and little moments can change things in the match.

"As as an away team it's difficult when there's 30,40,50,60,000 people at a game - that's normal. But it's not there, we haven't got the crowd and you just have to play football as well as you can. That's the challenge now.

"I’m not so surprised [by Bundesliga]. Everybody would say that the main thing about home advantage is the crowd. It’s not always the case because sometimes the home team can be in a moment of bad form and you can use that against you."

Loyal supporters will be able to make their presence felt, albeit in the form of personalised cardboard cutouts that can be purchased through the club for £20.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"It's hard for a cardboard cutout to generate the same atmosphere that 30,000 in the AMEX can, but it's an opportunity for fans to engage," said Potter.

"To have real life supporter would be far better - unless they're hurling abuse at me, in which case I'm happy with the cutouts."

Since full contact training has been back on the agenda, he has seen plenty of reason for optimism and insists the standard of training has never been higher in his year at the club.

"The players have adapted really well and come back in good spirits - they're focused and positive. The boys came back in a really good way and it's been the best two or three weeks training since I've been at the club," he said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"The performance, the attitude, the quality has all been really high. We've had a long period out and it's not been nice to go through, because people have been losing their lives, which puts things in perspective.

"But now we've got to go ahead and play and we want to get out there. We're looking to starting and I'm really happy with how the players have approached the return."

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton: In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.